As Bounce TV nears its first birthday, the
African- American-targeted broadcast network says it's already turning a profit
and is ready to invest in Nielsen ratings so it can expand on its successful
launch.
"I am proud to say that after 12 months, the network is profitable and
thriving," says Bounce COO Jonathan Katz. "We've seen ratings and revenue
growth at a level and pace that's really unheard of for a young network."
Bounce was launched by a group including Martin Luther King III and Andrew
Young Jr. The net has grown distribution to 65 million households, representing
about 80% of African-American homes, via digital multicast signals. (On its
birthday, Sept. 26, Bounce will launch in Detroit on a digital channel operated
by market leader WXYZ.) Bounce signed deals with nearly every major Hollywood
studio, securing hundreds of films with strong appeal to African-American
viewers. The net also recently renewed its agreement with the CIAA conference,
enabling it to air live college football and basketball games featuring
African-American schools.
"We premiered three original series, including a scripted sitcom, with more in
development and to be announced," Katz says.
But with Bounce needing ratings numbers to really cash in on its success, it is
finalizing a deal with Nielsen that could kick in as early as the fourth
quarter. "Several of our affiliates share local ratings, and we've seen steady
growth," Katz says, noting the channel has sometimes beaten broadcast competitors
as well as cable networks including TV One. "Given the strong local ratings,
and initial national numbers that Nielsen shared with us, we are taking an
unprecedented step for a young network [to be] nationally rated after just 12
months on the air," he adds.
Being a broadcast network is a big point of difference for Bounce. Katz notes
that a quarter of African- American homes don't subscribe to cable or
satellite.
Without ratings, Bounce TV has been running mostly direct-response advertising.
But it also has a core of a dozen early advertisers starting with Toyota and
Nissan, which both reupped for year two, plus GM and Chrysler, which signed on
during the upfront. Katz says Bounce is expanding its New York ad sales team to
keep up with demand.
Deborah Gray-Young, VP and media director at Burrell Communications, which buys
African- American media for Toyota, has been impressed with Bounce's
"explosive" growth. "The way that they were approaching this was really rather
brilliant, so I'm not at all surprised it's been successful coming out of the
gate," she says.
Gray-Young says she's encouraged by Bounce TV's distribution and by the local
ratings she's seen; she renewed Toyota's buy at levels similar to last year.
"Without having numbers to really further substantiate what we're assuming,
keeping the investment level is fair," she says. "We expect to have [ratings]
numbers shortly, and if we see an opportunity to increase investment, we'll do
that."
Affiliates are also pleased with the way the network bounces. "We feel it's a
great vehicle to really serve our community," says Pat LaPlatney, VP-digital
media and business development for Raycom, whose stations reach 12.3% of the
U.S. and almost 20% of African- American homes. "It's generating audience and
we're selling it well. So it's worked on every level."
Raycom, which owns an equity interest in the network, doesn't get Nielsen
ratings for Bounce TV, but LaPlatney says, "You know people are watching
because the direct response schedules are working."
In New Orleans, Bounce's ratings are running just 1 point behind MyNetworkTV
affiliate WUPL and ahead of NewsWatch 15, Belo's digital news channel,
according to Gary Wordlaw, general manager of Bounce in the Crescent City,
where the network airs on a digital channel from Fox affiliate WVUE.
Wordlaw says the network is creating new viewers among people who feel national
TV doesn't program to the African-American community, while at the same time
forging a new advertising base.
"I went out today and made about a half-dozen cold calls. Of that half-dozen,
three people want call-backs, one is going to write me a check tomorrow. That
never happened to me," Wordlaw says. "So I'm creating through Bounce TV a whole
other group of advertisers who are rallying around this channel because it's
reaching into the community that they serve."
The next step is creating local programming. "The Bounce people are very
interested in those stations that can create some local programming that also
might be carried nationally by Bounce," Wordlaw adds. "And New Orleans is a
natural for that. But right now, we want to crawl before we walk."
